For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
The verse belongs to the account of the Roman centurion at Capernaum who came to Jesus for the healing of his servant, recorded in Luke 7:1-17 and paralleled in Matthew 8:5-13. In the verse the Jewish elders urge Jesus to help the centurion and present him as worthy and deserving of favor because he loves the Jewish nation and people and has built them a synagogue. His kindness, care, and support for their worship showed respect for their religion across the barrier between Romans and Jews, even though he was a Roman and a conqueror. The centurion himself showed remarkable faith in contrast to the unbelief of Jesus' own nation, which required outward signs and wonders to believe; he did not question Jesus' power and did not even ask Him to come in person, but asked Him only to speak the word for his servant to be healed, and Jesus marveled at that faith while He had been grieved and had marveled at the unbelief of His own nation.
The elders' appeal rested on favor shown, personal goodness, good works, and standing with the nation, but the centurion himself confessed that he was unworthy and did not rely on his own goodness as a claim on Jesus; he appealed to Jesus' power and mercy, making his need his only plea and his need, not his goodness, his claim on mercy. The contrast teaches that human merit does not recommend anyone to Christ, and that the only argument that prevails with Him is great need trusted to the Saviour's mercy.
Rewarding the centurion's faith shows Christ beginning to break down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile, working directly among and converting people outside the acknowledged people of Israel to preach salvation to all mankind; it revealed in part that the middle wall of partition between Israel and the other nations is broken down and that Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the Jews and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel. The event helped the disciples understand that among those many regarded as unworthy of salvation there were souls hungering for the light of truth, and taught that in God's kingdom there are no territorial lines, no caste, and no aristocracy, so they must go to all nations bearing the message of a Saviour's love.
The verse belongs to the account of the Roman centurion at Capernaum who came to Jesus for the healing of his servant, recorded in Luke 7:1-17 and paralleled in Matthew 8:5-13. In the verse the Jewish elders urge Jesus to help the centurion and present him as worthy and deserving of favor because he loves the Jewish nation and people and has built them a synagogue. His kindness, care, and support for their worship showed respect for their religion across the barrier between Romans and Jews, even though he was a Roman and a conqueror. The centurion himself showed remarkable faith in contrast to the unbelief of Jesus' own nation, which required outward signs and wonders to believe; he did not question Jesus' power and did not even ask Him to come in person, but asked Him only to speak the word for his servant to be healed, and Jesus marveled at that faith while He had been grieved and had marveled at the unbelief of His own nation.
The elders' appeal rested on favor shown, personal goodness, good works, and standing with the nation, but the centurion himself confessed that he was unworthy and did not rely on his own goodness as a claim on Jesus; he appealed to Jesus' power and mercy, making his need his only plea and his need, not his goodness, his claim on mercy. The contrast teaches that human merit does not recommend anyone to Christ, and that the only argument that prevails with Him is great need trusted to the Saviour's mercy.
Rewarding the centurion's faith shows Christ beginning to break down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile, working directly among and converting people outside the acknowledged people of Israel to preach salvation to all mankind; it revealed in part that the middle wall of partition between Israel and the other nations is broken down and that Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the Jews and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel. The event helped the disciples understand that among those many regarded as unworthy of salvation there were souls hungering for the light of truth, and taught that in God's kingdom there are no territorial lines, no caste, and no aristocracy, so they must go to all nations bearing the message of a Saviour's love.